In September 1740, British Commodore George Anson departed England with a squadron of six warships and two victuallers tasked with raiding Spanish possessions along the Pacific coast of South America. The expedition became one of the most deadly voyages in naval history, primarily due to logistical delays before departure. Anson's fleet spent months stalled in Portsmouth waiting for dockyard workers and equipment.
Crucially, the Admiralty failed to equip the vessels with adequate hull protection, as early experiments with copper sheathing and sacrificial wooden plating were stalled by naval red tape. Without protected hulls, the fleet spent extra weeks undergoing repairs while marine organisms rapidly fouled their bottoms, drastically reducing their sailing speed. By the time the squadron reached Cape Horn in early 1741, severe storms and slow travel times stretched their rations past the limit.
The extended period at sea triggered a catastrophic outbreak of scurvy. Vitamin C deficiency ravaged the crew, causing old wounds to open and bones to fracture spontaneously. Out of the original 1,857 men who embarked on the expedition, over 1,300 died, the vast majority from scurvy rather than combat with the Spanish.
Five of the fleet's eight vessels were either wrecked, scuttled, or forced to turn back due to lack of able-bodied sailors. Despite losing the majority of his fleet and crew to preventable logistical failures, Anson eventually captured the rich Manila galleon Nuestra Señora de Covadonga in 1743, returning to England a immensely wealthy hero despite the horrific human cost.